It is Friday and time for the mid-day up-date!

There is some interesting news coming in today about Clay Aiken and his bid for the Democratic nomination for Congress in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District.

The Blot Magazine – This Clay Aiken Video Will Make You Forget About ‘American Idol’

Anyone out there who laughed off a Clay Aiken Congressional candidacy may well have to think again. Take a look at his recent campaign video:

(video)

Kid’s got chops, that’s for sure.

TheBlot reported last December that Aiken was mulling a Congressional bid to unseat Congresswoman Renee Ellmers in his home state of North Carolina. And now it’s official — Aiken kicked off his campaign and released the video last week. In the surprisingly candid and at times emotional commercial, the 35-year-old crooner and Raleigh native opens up about his personal history, telling us from a modest North Carolina living room about he and his mother fleeing an abusive father when Aiken was just a baby.

He also went after House GOP stalwart and lover of microphones Renee Ellmers, who he will face off against in North Carolina’s second Congressional district. He counted how many times Ellmers voted for the government shutdown, tying the shutdown to North Carolina’s Fort Bragg. Hold up — was Ellmers not supporting our troops? I thought that was their thang?

The Washington Post deemed Aiken’s Congressional bid a long shot at best. And his opponent isn’t pulling any punches. Ellmers told a local Washington, D.C., radio station, “Apparently his performing career isn’t going so well and he’s bored.” And that when it comes to competition, “he doesn’t always fare all that well.”

Whatever, Renee. With the right advisers and more ads like the one above, you may very well have a race on your hands.

Good luck, Clay.

You can visit this site at The Blot

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WNCN – Clay Aiken campaign surpasses $100K in donations

Clay Aiken’s campaign announced Friday that it surpassed $100,000 in individual donations more than a week after the former “American Idol” announced he was running for Congress.

The singer officially announced his candidacy for Congress in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District on Feb. 5 in a five-minuteYouYube video.

The campaign reports more than $70,000 in online contributions alone from over 1,400 individual donors in its first week. The average online donation is $49.

The campaign also raised an additional $30,000 in donations and pledges from individuals in the district and North Carolina.

Aiken will run in the Democratic primary first and, if successful, would face Republican incumbent Renee Ellmers in the election.

You can visit this site at WNCN

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I hope that Clay can continue to raise funds for his bid for Congress!